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Effectiveness of Spiritual Interventions on Depression in Patients with Chronic Diseases: A Meta-Analysis
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Fazleh Mohammadi Sirat *   , Masoud Azarbayejani , Masoud Janbozorgi , Hojatollah Farahani |
| Department of Psychology, Research Institute of Hawzah and University, Qom, Iran , fmohammadis12@gmail.com |
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Abstract: (20 Views) |
Background and Aim: Today, many studies have introduced religion and spirituality as important sources for improving patients' mental health. Most physicians consider it necessary to pay attention to spiritual issues in the treatment process. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of spiritual interventions on depression in patients with chronic diseases.
Methods: This study is a systematic review and meta-analysis of all Persian and English-language studies from 2015 to 2023 in the field of the effectiveness of spiritual interventions on depression in chronic diseases, using the PRISMA guide and Persian-language databases such as SID, MagIran, Civilica, Irandoc, and English-language databases including ScienceDirect, PubMed, Web of Science, ResearchGate, and Scopus. A supplementary search was also conducted on the Google Scholar site. Nineteen articles that met the inclusion criteria were selected, and the data were analyzed using R software.
Results: The overall effect size of spiritual interventions was 0.42 with a 95% confidence interval and a confidence limit of 0.27 to 0.58, indicating a correlation between studies and a relatively high effect of spiritual interventions on improving patients' depression. The results suggest heterogeneity among studies, possibly due to differences in intervention type, disease type, sample population, tools used, or other methodological variations. Additionally, the estimated overall effect size was not influenced by publication bias. The pooled meta-analysis results confirm the effectiveness of spiritual interventions on depression in patients with chronic illness.
Conclusion: The results of this study confirm the effectiveness of spiritual interventions in improving depression in patients with chronic illness and are consistent with previous theoretical and empirical foundations. Therefore, spirituality can be a powerful way to cope with chronic illness and accompanying psychological distress. Given the studies consistent with this conclusion, this meta-analysis provides evidence for physicians and nurses to promote mental health and quality of life in patients through spiritual interventions and reduce levels of depression, anxiety, and hopelessness. |
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| Keywords: Spiritual Interventions, Depression, Chronic Disease, Meta-Analysis |
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Type of Study: Original Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2024/11/16 | Accepted: 2025/06/13 | Published: 2025/06/20
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| Send email to the article author |
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